


The joy and sadness of Dona Duck aka I suck at titles

by Cheryll



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Donald Duck Needs a Hug, Drugs, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Hurt Donald Duck, Mom Dona duck, Navy Donald Duck, Parent Donald Duck, Read tags, Suicidal Thoughts, Tags May Change, The first chapter isn't that dark, be reassured, mention of mental illnesses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-19 01:47:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29867286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheryll/pseuds/Cheryll
Summary: Dona (Mc)Duck is the aunt of three children that have no idea of the adventurous life their guardian used to live. But thanks to one pink duckling and a very rich uncle they may discover more about the woman who raised them.
Relationships: Dewey Duck & Donald Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck, Donald Duck & Scrooge McDuck, José Carioca/Donald Duck/Panchito Pistoles
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30





	The joy and sadness of Dona Duck aka I suck at titles

**Author's Note:**

> Hi !  
> I hesitated a while on either writing Dona as a genderbend character or not. In the end I have more ideas when I can relate to the character and make it my own gender so I kept it that way even if that mean less people interested :)
> 
> I don't know how this will end yet, I will write as long as I have ideas !  
> Chapters may or may not be connected in the future I haven't decided that yet.
> 
> Enjoy !
> 
> PS : Take note that english is not my mother tongue. I'm fluent for the most part but you never know, some grammar errors could eventually appear. You can tell me in the comments if you see one so I can fix it.
> 
> PS2 : I'm not genderbending characters to make them straight at all ! All the other characters keep their canon gender so Dona x Daisy will be a lesbian couple and Dona x Panchito x José will mean straight relationships between D and J and D and P but P and J will have a gay relationship. I feel the need to say it because I've seen cosplayers making genderbent characters with the sole point of making an initially (canon) gay ship straight and that's not my intention.

Dona was standing in front of her bathroom’s mirror for what felt like ages, not able to keep her eyes off her own reflection staring back at her, cut in three thanks to the mirror being shattered by Dona’s knuckles months ago and the lack of money to get a replacement. Deep in her thoughts and in a staring contest with herself, she knew she could stay there as long as she wanted because the kids were sleeping tight in their bed- Well, actually in her own bed, Dona now sleeping either in a hammock or in the couch since the triplets had destroyed their own while playing and she couldn’t afford a new one. The kids didn’t seem to mind too much, the bed was even larger than their previous one. If they were little devils she would have thought that they did it on purpose, but the children knew better regarding their financial situation. Dona had always made sure that her nephews never lacked anything, but she wished she had had more time to find a stable job before having to take the kids in. More time to prepare, to save money, to get a real house or at least apartment. Don’t take her wrong, she loved her boat like a mother loves her children, or like an aunt loves her nephews, but it wasn’t ideal at all to raise triplets. At least here she didn’t have a rent to pay nor all the taxes that came with owning a house. Yeah, she managed things the best she could when motherhood was pushed upon her without warning. When her sister decided to abandon her children. The sister she could see every night and every day every time she passed across that damn mirror.

Because that was the thing about identical twins. It’s all fun and games when you’re little. You swap clothes to disturb your relatives, you help the other pass her exams and the other gets you your driving license, all funny things. But the day one of you makes the wrong choice, the day one of you disappears forever, the other one is doomed to watch the twin she will never meet again in the mirror every time she sees her own face. Her sister. The sister she hadn’t pronounced the name of for a while. In fact, the only time she said that name in years was when the triplets had first asked for it. She would always find a way to avoid the subject since then. Luckily, she didn’t even have to show them pictures : the children saw their mother’s face every time they saw their aunt’s. That hurt too, actually. When they were looking at her, were they seeing the aunt that cared for them, or were they just trying to find the face of their mother ? That was unfair. All Della did was birth them before making the dumbest decision she could. She had been irresponsible, Dona had to care for them from the moment they hatched to now. She had named them, raised them, loved them since then. She had given up on the idea of ever having her own children, and all she could get was to be Aunt Dona. Because she couldn’t take the other title from her sister, because that would have been unfair too. Still she knew that none would ever call her “mom” in the future, and she didn’t complain, she had chosen this life. She could have left the kids to her uncle and left. She could have been a normal aunt, showing up every blue full moon to bring gifts and disappear again. But no, she loved these eggs too much, she could have never left them, not for every treasure in the world. And god knew, even if she would never admit it, she missed treasure hunting. But she didn’t have to chase adventure anymore, because her own little sapphire, ruby and emerald were cuddling in their sleep, and life had proven to her that adventuring was too dangerous. But still, even if she couldn’t strip Della of her “mother title”, she wouldn’t correct the boys when one of them called her that by mistake. The same way her uncle never corrected her when she called him dadaidh.

* * *

Forcing herself out of her daydream, Dona focused again on her reflection in the mirror. Long blond hair, bright blue eyes. She used to find herself really pretty. Actually her good looks helped compensate for her absolutely horrid voice. That damn voice, the only gene she didn’t share with Della, the only way to differentiate them. And to top it all, the more she aged, the worse it was and the worse it was, the more it physically hurt her throat. And the only way to get it fixed by a doctor cost way too much. To help she had learned sign language, and taught the boys as well, so on days when the pain was too high and she couldn't talk she could still communicate and put her vocal cords at ease. It was hard to endure in high school, being bullied every time she opened her mouth, but it went better in college, the place where sounding like you’re constantly choking on helium seemed almost cool. But even if her voice didn’t stop her from getting two boyfriends back then, it did stop her from her dream of being a singer in the band she had created with the so called boyfriends. But luckily after all these years she had finally found a public that liked her, since her voice never stopped the children from falling asleep at the sound of their aunt’s lullabies. Still college years felt so far away. She was more than thirty now, she couldn’t drown her body in tequila during student parties and wake up in a bed surrounded by strangers who barely spoke english anymore. She had been in the navy and seen things none should ever see. She had explored almost every place on Earth and nearly died more times than she could count. And now she was an unemployed single ~~mother~~ aunt of three that had to cut on her own meals to feed her children. And what was funny is that said children had no idea of the more than busy life she led before they entered it. But she’d rather be boring Aunt Dona rather than introduce them to a life as dangerous as how hers used to be.

Dona opened the faucet, splashing some icy cold water on her face as a way to wash away the dark thoughts. She left the bathroom, ready to grab the few hours of sleep left before having to wake up to prepare the ducklings for school. But before that, she passed by her bedroom to sneak inside and watch the three sleeping peacefully.

Yes, these kids were definitely worth leaving a life of adventures and parties behind.

* * *

5 am. Dawn is just starting to rise and Dona leaves very quietly the boat dressed in a dark blue t-shirt and military pants to let the kids have the last hour of sleep available for them. She may have left the navy years ago, the clothes had stayed for the most part for a reason she didn’t quite understand herself. Something else hadn’t left : waking up early on weekdays and morning workouts. Not only to stay in shape, but also to prevent anger issues and relieve the huge amounts of stress that were thrown at her every day. She could never sleep for long anyway, nightmares from the war or other past traumas would often come to haunt her before the sun had the chance to rise. Obviously exercising would have been better with a garden, but she’d have to do with what she had. The neighbors were used to it after all.

Dona was barely starting when she saw something suspicious in her field of vision. She didn’t know if she was just tired, but she could swear that she had seen a pink little thing running past her and disappearing in an instant. Nothing too alarming; could be one of the fisherman's children, but still odd as she usually never sees any child at this hour of the day. One hour later, Dona left the bathroom now wearing a marine striped shirt with sailor pants, slightly different from her usual sailor outfit. When she entered the room she was greeted by the same view as every morning: Dewey already awake and full of energy. Huey sitting at the table not really sleepy but not really awake either and Louie could still be heard snoring in her room. Ten minutes and a grumpy Louie picked up under one arm later, she made them breakfast with what was left in the kitchen, managing three hot cocoa with a couple of toasts. She should really find a way to go grocery shopping.

By 6.30 the hot drink had calmed Dewey down, Huey had had enough time for his brain to finally fully activate and eating had at least woken up the most primal parts of Louie’s one. She shoved the ducklings in the green car with their bags, drove them to school because she hadn't found the strength and will to let them go on their own already : they could get kidnapped, murdered, lost, and way too many other possibilities for her anxious brain to count.

She kissed them on the head with the sole purpose of showing them her affection and humiliate them a little in front of their friends before going straight back home, desperately trying to find a job that she could keep for more than a month or two. Another day passed without her having to think about her uncle, nor her sister. At least that’s what she thought before the triplets came back home with their homework. But not just homework. _That_ homework.

The famous and dreaded “ _Let’s make a family tree for english class_ ” homework.

Dona knew that one would come one day, but she didn’t expect it...yet.

She sat silent on a chair in front of the kitchen counter while the kids were laying on the ground in front of a huge piece of paper. Huey was in charge of the writing so they wouldn’t mess up and waste paper, Dewey was looking attentively and Louie was CEO of already getting bored and rolling from side to side, hoping the homework would get itself down on its own.

“ So there’s me, the oldest.” Huey wrote his full name in tiny cursive letters on the bottom of the sheet, ignoring the “ _only by five minutes._ ” Dewey had sternly thrown at him. “Then there’s Dewford and finally Llew-” Huey never got to finish his writing as he was pushed to the side by Louie who had urgently gotten out of his daydream, jumping on his brother to grab the pen and write “ **LOUIE** ” in bold letters on top of what Huey had already started. Huey’s face surprisingly turned as red as his shirt.

“Louie ! Look what you did !” He kicked his brother off his back and threw his arms dramatically in the air. “The paper’s all crumpled and you ruined it with your handwriting good enough for a two years old!” Dewey just sighed, trying to flatten the paper. He knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

 ~~Llew-~~ Louie shouted back at his brother, pointing a finger at his aunt behind him. “Not my fault if aunt Dona gave me the most weird name in the whole United States. It doesn’t even sound like english !” (Deep down, Louie didn’t really hate that name, it even sounded somewhat distinguished. But other kids had made fun of his name long enough for him to not want anyone at school to hear it ever again.)

“ That’s because it’s gaelic.”

Huey and Louie stopped yelling at each other, turning toward their aunt, confused. “And why on Earth exactly would you give me a …”glaecic” name ?! Couldn’t have gone with I don’t know… Michael ? James ? John ?! Anything normal really ?!”

Dona closed her eyes and sighed, face half resting in her palm. This wasn’t going to be easy. “Because… and it’s time for you to know it, you are of scottish descent.” None of the triplets said anything, but even Dewey had started to pay attention to his aunt. In fact, Huey was just not believing it while the other two were wondering what country “ scottish” was supposed to be associated with.

Dewey tried first. “Scottish ? You mean like … people from Ireland ?”

Louie followed, frowning. “You’re telling us we’re not a bland boring american family ? There’s no way I’m going to believe this.”

Huey took a few more seconds to get out of his trance, getting his junior woodchuck guidebook and flipping through the pages at a concerning speed. “ S C O T L A N D ?! You mean the country of tartans, bagpipes and golf ?!”

“That… is a pretty simple summary but yes.” Dona, knowing the kids wouldn’t believe her right away, took her ID card out of her pocket and threw it at them. Dewey caught it and read it out loud.

“Dona Duck blabla… Nationality : … Scottish and American !” He looked up at Dona. “A double nationality ?! Since when ?!”

She jumped off her chair to sit next to them on the floor and take her card back. “Well.. Scottish since I’m born, American since my parents moved back to America for my father’s needs.”

“ But you don’t have an accent !”

“ I lost it.”

“But we’ve never been to Scotland !”

“I dont have the money to do that”

“But why didn’t you tell us ?!”

“Because….” Dona paused for a second. “I never really thought about it. I haven’t been there in a while and my mother is long dead so I never had to think about it again.” That was a lie. Pure lies. Dona just knew that if she had told them earlier they could have made the link between them and the richest duck in town. After all the difference between Duck and McDuck was quite thin. She even used to use the second name to present herself from time to time when she was young.

“ My junior woodchuck guidebook says every clan has its own tartan ! Do we have one ? Oh and what is our clan’s name ?!”

“I… don’t remember. I was too young in Scotland and mom was really americanized thanks to dad… I can’t remember a memory when we talked about it. “ All lies. Again.

“Fine…” Huey sounded frustrated, but knew that if his aunt didn’t remember anything he wouldn’t have much to do research about.

Louie bursted out of nowhere again. “So we don’t have an accent, didn’t even know before today that we were half scottish and don't even know our tartan nor clan, but you still had to call me LLEWELLYN?!”

Dona smiled and pulled him by force into her arms. “Yes little duckling , life’s unfair I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me for trying to please the ancestors. Now let’s go back to that family tree.” Dona kept Louie in her arms to prevent him from ruining the paper again, and Huey took his job back as the official writer. Donald gave them the names to write, and her heart clenched when the children wrote Della’s name in the case above them and not hers, while “Aunt Dona” was written to the side, not even connected to the triplets. That hurt a lot, but again she couldn’t take that from Della. When the time came for her own parents’ names, she prayed that none of the clever ducklings around her would have the idea to make deep research about their grandmother and find out about their great uncle. Dona hesitated, and only gave her grandparents’ first names, because if they knew the last one they would figure things out way too easily. She told Huey to write Matilda next to Hortense’s name, saying nothing about Scrooge on purpose. She felt a little bit guilty, but it was for the better.

Then Dewey and Louie were in charge of drawing the tree while Huey was now at the table with his aunt practicing his spanish. How did his aunt learn to speak spanish fluently was another unsolved question roaming in Hubert’s mind, but he said nothing about it. Happily he hadn’t heard her speaking portugese and deutsch yet, because that would have been starting to be suspicious of Dona to not be such a boring aunt after all. A few hours later they were all sent to beds, and before going to tuck them in and say them goodnight, Dona passed by the living room again, looking at the tree that was forgotten on the floor. She picked it up, stared at it for a while. She rolled it without a word, leaving it on the kitchen counter.

The next day, Dona woke up at five. Did her morning work out. Prepared the boys at six. Sent them to school at half past six. Coming back home, she entered her room, took a key from its hidden place near her wardrobe and opened it, only to reveal underneath her clothes a chest that also needed a key to be opened. Once she did so, she took the orangish and green tartan skirt and sash out of it. The one she had brought back from Scotland months ago when the kids were visiting Elvira at her farm. It was gifted to her by Downy, because her old ones had gotten too small with the years. Of course she made her grandparents promise to never tell her uncle she came, and she knew they would keep that promise. She smiled at the tartan’s pattern before folding it neatly and putting it back in the chest.

Hiding the kids from their family was bad, but it was definitely for the best.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading !  
> I hope you enjoyed it ! Please leave a comment, I take constructive criticisms so I can improve !
> 
> I don't know when I will post the next chapters because in France exams keep being cancelled and renewed for some people, but even if I take a little long know that I NEVER forget about an unfinished fic !


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